During World War II era, a young woman, Wang Jiazhi, gets swept up in a dangerous game of emotional intrigue with a powerful political figure, Mr. Yee.During World War II era, a young woman, Wang Jiazhi, gets swept up in a dangerous game of emotional intrigue with a powerful political figure, Mr. Yee.During World War II era, a young woman, Wang Jiazhi, gets swept up in a dangerous game of emotional intrigue with a powerful political figure, Mr. Yee.
- Nominated for 2 BAFTA Awards
- 28 wins & 56 nominations total
- Mr. Yee
- (as Tony Chiu Wai Leung)
- Old Wu
- (as Tsung-Hua Tuo)
- Lai Shu Jin
- (as Chih-ying Chu)
- Liang Jun Sheng
- (as Ko Yu-Luen)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaDirector Ang Lee made Tony Leung Chiu-wai study the performances of Marlon Brando in Last Tango in Paris (1972), Humphrey Bogart in In a Lonely Place (1950) and Richard Burton in Equus (1977), to give him a sense of wounded masculinity, which Lee felt was right for the character of Mr. Yee.
- GoofsIn the café scene where Mak Tai Tai is calling her comrades the ringer heard through the phone both times is a modern ringer, which wasn't used until the 1970s/early 1980s.
- Quotes
Old Wu: Don't tell me what to do! You listen to me! Yee murdered my wife and both my children. But I could still eat with him at the same table! That's what an agent must be able to do! I'd like nothing better than to kill him with my own hands. But if letting him live another few days is valuable, then we must! Keep him hooked, and keep me informed. Don't do anything without my order. Remember... For an agent there is only one thing... Loyalty. To the party, to our leader, to our country. Understand?
Wong Chia Chi: Don't worry. I'll do whatever you say.
Old Wu: Good. Very good. All you need to do is keep him trapped. If you need anything...
Wong Chia Chi: What trap are you talking about? My body? What do you take him for? He knows better than you how to put on an act. He not only gets inside me... he worms his way into my heart like a snake. Deeper. All the way in. I take him in like a slave. I play my part faithfully... so I, too, can get to his heart. Every time... he hurts me until I bleed... and scream. Then he is satisfied. Then he feels alive. In the dark... only he knows it's all real.
Old Wu: That's enough.
Wong Chia Chi: That's why... That's why I can torture him until he can't stand it any longer... and still I go on until we collapse from exhaustion.
Old Wu: Enough!
Wong Chia Chi: And when he finally comes inside me, I think maybe this is it. Maybe this is when you'll rush in and shoot him in the back of the head... and his blood and brains will cover me!
Old Wu: Shut up!
- Alternate versionsAn R-Rated version was made for the home video market for sale in places that doesn't carry NC-17 films (e.g. supermarkets). The run-time of the R-rated version is only ~30 seconds less but features ~70 seconds of alternative footage to soften the rating.
- SoundtracksKlavierstücke Op. 118 No. 2 Intermezzo
Composed by Johannes Brahms
Performed by Alain Planès
(p) 2007 Decca Label Group
I think this is a very personal film for Ang Lee - betraying his private thoughts on his homeland, on sexuality, on truth, on love.
Here in Asia, one shared event in our history binds us all - the Japanese occupation during WWII and all the horrors that came with it.
To retell the anguish of that time through a torrid affair between a collaborator (traitor) and a spy is a brave commentary on how we Asians respond to traumas both personal and collective.
Mr Lee raises unearths some complex emotions towards identity and truth, as revealed in only the most intimate moments between illicit lovers in times of extreme duress.
That Lee chose to make such a film after his phenomenal success in Hollywood, and during this period of phenomenal progress for modern China, gives Lust Caution a heightened sense of relevance and urgency, a film that can potentially invite questions on what it deeply means to be Chinese, to be Asian.
Lee is a master, Tony Leung is divine, Tang Wei is a slow-burning revelation. I highly recommend this film to Asians and non-Asians alike.
- paula_nocon
- Sep 21, 2007
- Permalink
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Official site
- Languages
- Also known as
- Sắc, Giới
- Filming locations
- Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia(students on the tram: Jalan Chung On Siew)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $15,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $4,604,982
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $63,918
- Sep 30, 2007
- Gross worldwide
- $67,091,915
- Runtime2 hours 37 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1